Abstract
Introduction: Primary systemic chemotherapy is used in inoperable, locally advanced, or inflammatory (neoadjuvant chemotherapy) breast cancer, and when a reduction in tumor size is sought in order to offer conservative surgical treatment as an option.
Objective: To assess the usefulness of selective sentinel node biopsy (SSNB) in patients with breast cancer treated with primary systemic chemotherapy.
Materials and methods: Retrospective study carried out from January 2006 to December 2015 at the Breast Pathology Department of the Complejo Hospitalario Universitario Insular-Materno Infantil de Canarias. Patients with infiltrating breast cancer (T1-4/N0-2), who were treated with neoadjuvant or primary systemic chemotherapy, plus trastuzumab in the cases with Her2/neu positive carcinoma, underwent a SSNB.
Axillary lymphadenectomy (AL) was performed according to the protocol established at that time. T
Results: Group I: pre-chemotherapy SSNB in patients with cN0 at onset. The SN was detected in 184 patients (97.8%). Group 2: post-chemotherapy SSNB in cN1-2 patients or those with locally advanced carcinoma.
Conclusion: Sentinel node detection is safe both before and after systemic treatment. Performing fewer axillary lymphadenectomies does not lead to an increase in local or systemic recurrences.
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Copyright (c) 2022 Yolanda Gil González, Yonit Emergui Zhiren, Manuel Cazorla Betancor, María Isabel Reyes Rodríguez, Concepció Jiménez Medina, Alicia Inmaculada Martín Martínez